Center Stage Corsetry: Sewing is a Family Tradition
Corsets are my passion, as a designer, as a lover of vintage & modern corsets and imagery, and perhaps most importantly as a corset wearer. I love to put pencil to paper and silk to machine, breathing life into simple fabric and watching the corsets come alive, works of art painted on the canvas of the human form. I love how corsets make each of us feel something unique. Whether you feel sexy, empowered, demure, submissive, each of us share that thrill when you lace up into a corset. Though corsets have been seen in the past (and by some still unfortunately) as symbols of mankind’s oppression of women, we at Center Stage Corsetry believe corsetry is the ultimate expression of womanhood. It is nothing short of exhilarating when you walk into a room and all eyes turn on you, and you're center stage! We don’t believe you need the 36-24-36 figure to turn heads. Center Stage Corsets takes your god-given form and shapes your assets to the best advantage, be it waist or bum or chest! Our goal is not to create perfect bodies but customers who feel perfectly empowered, attractive, and sexy in their corset. We also are very happy to work with you if you desire a daily wear corset, as a body shaper or to gradually mold and train your body into a form you feel comfortable with. It is all about YOU the customer! From the style selected, to the perfect placement of seams that curve over the body, the luxurious fabrics and trims, to the multiple toile fittings, all elements of Center Stage Corsets are planned to insure your corset not only fits and is just what you desire, all with the end result of having an ecstatic customer in a lovely couture corset.
Center Stage corsetry is a marriage between old world artistry and cutting edge designs. Whether you choose a corset inspired by international pop star Britney Spears, or a reproduction made from a period pattern, you can be sure all our corsets are made with the same quality craftsmanship, attention to detail, and (because your corsetiere happens to be a fabric snob) with the finest materials available. Center Stage Corsetry offers both custom couture corsetry, as well as bespoke wedding and special occasion corset gowns. For those just starting out in corsetry we also offer corsets made in a standard size.
Each Center Stage Corset is hand-crafted from start to finish by its designer, so each corset blossoms from design and patterning, to construction and detailing, and lastly into a lovely yet durable corset. For that reason you can be sure your corset is not only made to last but made with care. Just as The Little Prince cared for his rose, so do we for our customers. Unlike most corset makers, Center Stage Corsets are not made mass-produced garments, each corset is a personal work of art.
I have been sketching and designing as far back as I can remember, and designing and sewing my own creations since I was a child. I was very anti-pattern at a young age which drove my mother crazy, so she was too frustrated to teach me to sew, and I learned myself through trial and error. She herself was a very accomplished seamstress, and made me the most beautiful costumes as a child. I won two 1st place costume awards, first as Most Beautiful when I was four years old, wearing a lavender satin, tulle, and sequin ball gown, and at age 8 for overall 1st place in my Dorothy gown with my stuffed Toto in my arms. For my Junior Year High School Ball my mother truly was my fairy godmother. I felt like Cinderella entering the room, my date and I turned heads, jaws dropped, and even friends were jealous. I wore an exquisite Beauty and the Beast style full ball gown in gold duchesse satin, with delicate ivory ribbon lacing and rosettes on the bodice, and sheer ivory sleeves that fell delicately off the shoulder. I was asked to dance by several boys who were not my boyfriend, one who would not take no for an answer! I wish to play fairy godmother for my customers, and capture that feeling of being Cinderella on "Center Stage."
My grandmother before her was also a seamstress, so I am simply one woman in a line of many seamstresses. When my daughter was born she inherited one of my Grandmother's creations. She made the most adorable Christmas dress ever, a cute cotton A-line with small print poinsettias, red rickrack detailing, and a matching diaper cover and ruffled baby bonnet. I had seen the dress multiple times, but it wasn’t until my mother passed the dress onto me that I looked inside and saw her perfect handwork!!!
It is extremely gratifying to me to see my daughter sketch her dress designs in colored pencil, and practically dancing with excitement come show and explain them to me. I’ve taught her to write out the details so she doesn’t forget them later, and draw arrows to the features she is referring to. I think I may include some of her designs in my boutique kids' collection, for who better to know what children want to wear than a child?? I know my daughter can do anything, even become President, but I secretly harbor a desire in my heart to see her become an even better designer than any of us who have come before her. And even my son lately has shown an interest in sewing...
Center Stage corsetry is a marriage between old world artistry and cutting edge designs. Whether you choose a corset inspired by international pop star Britney Spears, or a reproduction made from a period pattern, you can be sure all our corsets are made with the same quality craftsmanship, attention to detail, and (because your corsetiere happens to be a fabric snob) with the finest materials available. Center Stage Corsetry offers both custom couture corsetry, as well as bespoke wedding and special occasion corset gowns. For those just starting out in corsetry we also offer corsets made in a standard size.
Each Center Stage Corset is hand-crafted from start to finish by its designer, so each corset blossoms from design and patterning, to construction and detailing, and lastly into a lovely yet durable corset. For that reason you can be sure your corset is not only made to last but made with care. Just as The Little Prince cared for his rose, so do we for our customers. Unlike most corset makers, Center Stage Corsets are not made mass-produced garments, each corset is a personal work of art.
I have been sketching and designing as far back as I can remember, and designing and sewing my own creations since I was a child. I was very anti-pattern at a young age which drove my mother crazy, so she was too frustrated to teach me to sew, and I learned myself through trial and error. She herself was a very accomplished seamstress, and made me the most beautiful costumes as a child. I won two 1st place costume awards, first as Most Beautiful when I was four years old, wearing a lavender satin, tulle, and sequin ball gown, and at age 8 for overall 1st place in my Dorothy gown with my stuffed Toto in my arms. For my Junior Year High School Ball my mother truly was my fairy godmother. I felt like Cinderella entering the room, my date and I turned heads, jaws dropped, and even friends were jealous. I wore an exquisite Beauty and the Beast style full ball gown in gold duchesse satin, with delicate ivory ribbon lacing and rosettes on the bodice, and sheer ivory sleeves that fell delicately off the shoulder. I was asked to dance by several boys who were not my boyfriend, one who would not take no for an answer! I wish to play fairy godmother for my customers, and capture that feeling of being Cinderella on "Center Stage."
My grandmother before her was also a seamstress, so I am simply one woman in a line of many seamstresses. When my daughter was born she inherited one of my Grandmother's creations. She made the most adorable Christmas dress ever, a cute cotton A-line with small print poinsettias, red rickrack detailing, and a matching diaper cover and ruffled baby bonnet. I had seen the dress multiple times, but it wasn’t until my mother passed the dress onto me that I looked inside and saw her perfect handwork!!!
It is extremely gratifying to me to see my daughter sketch her dress designs in colored pencil, and practically dancing with excitement come show and explain them to me. I’ve taught her to write out the details so she doesn’t forget them later, and draw arrows to the features she is referring to. I think I may include some of her designs in my boutique kids' collection, for who better to know what children want to wear than a child?? I know my daughter can do anything, even become President, but I secretly harbor a desire in my heart to see her become an even better designer than any of us who have come before her. And even my son lately has shown an interest in sewing...